You already know what I think of Mass Effect 2, so I won't waste your time going over that here. Suffice it to say that I love it so much that I wasn't about to wait and see what some chubby nobody like myself thought of the new DLC, "Kasumi - Stolen Memory." I was buying it, and that was that.
So if we can all agree that Mass Effect 2 is a great game (and we can, right?), it seems what we've basically got here is a value proposition: Does the $7 entry fee provide you with enough new greatness? Let's break down the new, shall we?
The New Mission: Moments after meeting up with master thief Kasumi, you're thrust into her life of crime. She needs your help to steal something of sentimental value from a ruthless criminal overlord throwing a party for similarly minded individuals. The ensuing heist and fire fight is as good as the rest of the game's loyalty missions (if not better than a few), but you should know up front that we're talking about an hour of gameplay here, tops. It's a very good hour. But it's an hour.
The New Character: The cocky yet sorrowful Kasumi is more fleshed out than most video game characters, but that's not saying a lot in Mass Effect 2, which is already jam-packed with a crew of interesting, multi-layered individuals. She's fine, but compared to the rest of the game's supporting cast, she's highly underdeveloped. Maybe if you picked her up earlier in the story she would have more time to blossom, but I'm assuming that most of you downloading the content have already put the main mission to bed.
The New Casual Outfit: It's a space tuxedo or a fancy low-cut space dress for the ladies. Too formal for the Normandy day-to-day? Perhaps. But you can't really put a dollar value on making a great first impression on visiting space dignitaries.
The New Weapon: The Locust SMG has a lot of history behind it, we're told, but in practice it didn't seem all that different from other SMGs in the game. True, it's been a few months since I played, but at least in the context of this one mission, it didn't feel particularly special.
"But Justin, is it worth $7?" I already hear you asking, but the answer is pretty subjective. At the end, I felt like I didn't necessarily get my money's worth, but I also know I wouldn't have believed that until I had bought the thing myself. If your world was rocked like mine by Mass Effect 2, then you're probably playing rather than reading this. That's fine, you'll probably be able to justify it to yourself -- I know I was. If, however, you were a fan but not desperate for more, you're probably better off forgetting about this memory until the inevitable price drop.
Xbox.com: Add Kasumi - Stolen Memory to your Xbox 360 download queue ($7.00)
Reader Comments (89)
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 1:19PM Patton said
For those of you having trouble justifying spending seven whole dollars on DLC:
To put things into perspective, a combo meal at Wendy's is between 6 and 7 bucks. Is an hour of gaming worth 7 bucks? Yeah, it is, fatty.
To put things into perspective, a combo meal at Wendy's is between 6 and 7 bucks. Is an hour of gaming worth 7 bucks? Yeah, it is, fatty.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:01PM aughscreennames said
Id rather eat than go hungry the whole day just to spend an hour playing a mission in ME2. Not going hungry, now THATS worth $7. If youre talking about still eating AND still spending the extra $7 then wouldnt that make it around $14 worth of food? In that case I can think of a ton of places I would like to eat at that costs around $14 that I would enjoy more than this DLC.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 7:03PM maveric101 said
you've obviously never taken an economics course. you can't compare those two items like that. food is a necessity, you MUST buy it to live. DLC is a luxury, you don't have to buy it. i could go into more detail, but i don't feel like typing that much.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 1:19PM Exu said
Played it, it was okay, wasn't worth anywhere near 560 points. Don't buy it.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 1:25PM Puertoricarious said
while ME2 has easily become one of my favorite games, i'm still not picking this up. i'm not at all comfortable with how DLC pricing is increasing, and i know that if i buy this, i'm sending the message that this pricing is ok. i passed on the MW2 stimulus package, and i'll be passing on this as well.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 4:16PM Puertoricarious said
the bring down the sky missions were $10 but also took me about 2 hours to complete. this is $7 for half that amount of play time. i won't even bother going into pinnacle station.
not to mention that this DLC is shaping up to be very similar to zaeed (has her own mission, can't interact with her on the normandy), and zaeed was free.
i'll admit, this is nowhere near as overpriced as the stimulus package, but i still consider it to be overpriced nonetheless. i'll pick it up if and when the price drops.
Reply
not to mention that this DLC is shaping up to be very similar to zaeed (has her own mission, can't interact with her on the normandy), and zaeed was free.
i'll admit, this is nowhere near as overpriced as the stimulus package, but i still consider it to be overpriced nonetheless. i'll pick it up if and when the price drops.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:10PM Vcize said
I'd like to see a list of all the stupid shit people spend 7 bucks on every day. For another hour of ME2, plus a new character and weapon to use the whole way through on second/third playthroughs, 7 bucks is trivial.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:20PM RogueJedi86 said
Sonos, it's not just an hour of gameplay though. Kasumi carries over to the entire rest of the game, so add on your entire gameplay time to that hour. She has as much value as any party member. Plus she gives more leeway on choices for roles in the suicide mission, which is never bad, giving a margin of error there. I'd get your complaint if she only showed up for her mission and never again, but she is on your ship and she can go with you on any missions you take, including the suicide mission.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:29PM Mcmax3000 said
It kind of is up for debate because it's subjective to who's paying that $7.
For example, I value my enjoyment of the content over its length and I feel that I got $7 worth of fun out of the content. If you value the length as being more important, then it will not be worth it for you.
Reply
For example, I value my enjoyment of the content over its length and I feel that I got $7 worth of fun out of the content. If you value the length as being more important, then it will not be worth it for you.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:53PM RogueJedi86 said
Sonos, what price for DLC is fine with you then? $7 is cheap. You expect hours of content off DLC that only costs $1?
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:21PM Frellwit said
It's worth my money, but then again, so are triple bacon thickburgers with double extra cheese from BK. :/ 7 bones is a drop in the hat. 90 minutes of new gameplay has more of a lasting value than buying a CD, but nobody complains when their favorite band puts out new material. Same concept, greater entertainment value.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:46PM Frellwit said
The point was that said sandwich will only make me unhealthier, which is obviously a negative. There are so many alternatives to that sandwich which are better for me to eat. NOBODY in the entire world NEEDS to buy a fast food burger. It's a waste of money.
Reply
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:34PM devin 42 said
However much I loved ME2 I just can't warrant buying this. I know I'd have to justify its cost by playing it through several different times until it's utterly boring.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 2:56PM AnberlinRulez said
God RogueJedi86, does it hurt your soul that much for someone to badmouth Bioware or ME2 that you compulsively sit at your computer waiting for your chance to be an ME2 Apologist? We know what your response to any negative criticism of Bioware, ME2 or their overpriced DLC will be. "No it's not negative, it's positive." So you can quit typing whenever you're ready. You are adding nothing to the discussion if you will mindlessly defend someone no matter what.
However you parse it DLC is easily one of the worst things to happen to videogames, period. DLC are never additions to an already full game, they are almost always parts of the game that were intended to be part of the original full game by the creative staff (the people who actually make the games) but were cut from it by the administrative or corporate staff (the people who care about MONEY) so that they could sell you something that was already created to make more money. DLC are blatantly for the corporations that only care about making money and never for the players. I could give you instance after instance of DLC being already on the disc but you having to pay to unlock it, and anytime that didn't happen was because they had wised up to the fact that people would catch that and they took it off the disc so as not to look bad. Creative teams make the game as a whole and don't sit around saying, Oh we'll keep that back for the DLC. They make the game and then corporate sits there and says, "Hmm... I wonder how much can we pull out of the main game and sell back to the players without pissing off more than about 20% of people?" That's all they care about and if you don't think that's screwed up or wrong or you don't think that's what's happening then they've got you on a leash and good for them. Unfortunately for people like me and some of the other people who "get it" that DLC is gouging your not buying these DLC won't help because most people are mindless zombies with deep pockets who don't care that they're getting raped. After they pull their pants up they turn around and thank EA or Activision for the "attention". For thousands of years people who dissented were burned at the stake or exiled or put in prisons for life and now you have a population of idiots who believe whatever they're told. Welcome to Idiocracy folks, and it's not getting any better. Thanks to the 10% of you that recognize what I'm saying and the rest of you should drink battery acid because EA says it's good for you and it'll get you ready for Mass Effect 3 DLC!!!!!!
However you parse it DLC is easily one of the worst things to happen to videogames, period. DLC are never additions to an already full game, they are almost always parts of the game that were intended to be part of the original full game by the creative staff (the people who actually make the games) but were cut from it by the administrative or corporate staff (the people who care about MONEY) so that they could sell you something that was already created to make more money. DLC are blatantly for the corporations that only care about making money and never for the players. I could give you instance after instance of DLC being already on the disc but you having to pay to unlock it, and anytime that didn't happen was because they had wised up to the fact that people would catch that and they took it off the disc so as not to look bad. Creative teams make the game as a whole and don't sit around saying, Oh we'll keep that back for the DLC. They make the game and then corporate sits there and says, "Hmm... I wonder how much can we pull out of the main game and sell back to the players without pissing off more than about 20% of people?" That's all they care about and if you don't think that's screwed up or wrong or you don't think that's what's happening then they've got you on a leash and good for them. Unfortunately for people like me and some of the other people who "get it" that DLC is gouging your not buying these DLC won't help because most people are mindless zombies with deep pockets who don't care that they're getting raped. After they pull their pants up they turn around and thank EA or Activision for the "attention". For thousands of years people who dissented were burned at the stake or exiled or put in prisons for life and now you have a population of idiots who believe whatever they're told. Welcome to Idiocracy folks, and it's not getting any better. Thanks to the 10% of you that recognize what I'm saying and the rest of you should drink battery acid because EA says it's good for you and it'll get you ready for Mass Effect 3 DLC!!!!!!
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 5:27PM Funkmaster General said
Epic reply fail, dude.
Someone give this guy an achievement.
Reply
Someone give this guy an achievement.
Posted: Apr 8th 2010 3:50AM Laser Sanchez said
You're right, this is just like burning people at the stake and so forth. And I'm sure if we told those who gave their lives that hundreds of years later, gamers would undergo similar scrutiny from message boards, they would understand our situation and wonder how much more brutal the world has become. At least until we explain what a gamer and a message board is. They might tell you to bring on the fire then because they've realized that they can't die fast enough to avoid the oncoming aneurysm.
DLC isn't the worst thing in the world. You don't have to buy it and they don't usually make any game feel any more complete despite what you've said. It is optional and generally speaking, not worth the money. I'm not buying it, you're not buying it, many of us are not buying it. And that's great: this is how we can directly affect prices. Chances are they probably would've saved this for the sequel or never made it anyway if they couldn't make some extra cash from it. In no way do I feel like they withheld me content from ME2, I've played through the game almost 3 times and racked up well over 100 hours. And if you're still pissed, just sell the game and buy the GotY edition a year from now if you really want to show them what you think of their new strategy. Crisis averted.
Reply
DLC isn't the worst thing in the world. You don't have to buy it and they don't usually make any game feel any more complete despite what you've said. It is optional and generally speaking, not worth the money. I'm not buying it, you're not buying it, many of us are not buying it. And that's great: this is how we can directly affect prices. Chances are they probably would've saved this for the sequel or never made it anyway if they couldn't make some extra cash from it. In no way do I feel like they withheld me content from ME2, I've played through the game almost 3 times and racked up well over 100 hours. And if you're still pissed, just sell the game and buy the GotY edition a year from now if you really want to show them what you think of their new strategy. Crisis averted.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 3:05PM (Unverified) said
Bioware continues to shovel out expensive and short additions to their games that need no expansion.
You make great games, Bioware, but I won't be buying any more of your DLC until I've got some solid evidence it's worth it.
You make great games, Bioware, but I won't be buying any more of your DLC until I've got some solid evidence it's worth it.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 3:32PM Umbassa said
Actually the "Free DLC" was only made available so people buy the game new. I love when people think companies are doing there customers favors...
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 6:30PM dvdjunkie32 said
Does the mission at least have dialogue choices? This would offer more than one hour playtime since I can play it again to see the different choices.
Otherwise, I am waiting until they release all this piece meal stuff on game discs.
Otherwise, I am waiting until they release all this piece meal stuff on game discs.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 4:51PM KIdhero said
Bought it last night beat it today and I loved every minute of it
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 6:19PM DeadpooI said
I thought the DLC was worth the price, the loyalty mission was definitely better than most of the ones already in-game thanks to making me feel like James Bond and Kasumi is a pretty cool character, her assassination ability certainly comes in handy.
Posted: Apr 7th 2010 7:31PM ECVOICE said
I'll pick this up on a special and use that as impetus for my second go-round in both ME and ME2. Before that? Nope.
Don't get me wrong, I'm dying to play it and to check out this DLC. But gotta be a little $tingy from time to time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm dying to play it and to check out this DLC. But gotta be a little $tingy from time to time.
Posted: Apr 8th 2010 7:43AM (Unverified) said
I think paying for this DLC pack is going to (hopefully) be worth it for the long run, maybe Kasumi will give some side assignments to steal.....um pilfer some stuff? I wouldn't mind stealing a Van Gogh if it means I can buy that last heavy skin weave upgrade........
Posted: Apr 8th 2010 12:14AM (Unverified) said
Part of me has come to dread the release of new DLC items for any game I enjoy, as it always seems to lead to the inevitable debates over whether it is "worth" the cost.
As has already been mentioned in the review, this is almost entirely a subjective matter. Seriously people, stop trying to dress up your own tastes and preferences in objective criteria. I will fully admit that I'm a big BioWare fan, and that ME2 is one of my favorite games in some time. Sure, I would always rather pay less and get more, but I don't tend to buy a lot of new games in a given year, and I always do multiple playthroughs in any BioWare game. Maybe I'm getting ripped off, but I would rather spend seven bucks for some great new stuff to play with in a game I love (and in which I am currently enjoying my third playthrough, with more eventually to come) than pay sixty dollars for a new game that I probably won't enjoy half as much as I enjoy ME2.
I also think it's a bit silly the way that a lot of people try to make value comparisons with other forms of entertainment, or online multiplayer games, or downloading new songs for Rock Band, etc. We're talking about entertainment, here, not science, so until somebody manages to precisely quantify entertainment value, and come up with a universal standard for measuring it, it makes little sense to debate the relative entertainment values per dollar of different media as if it were some legitimate statistical category.
If you love going to see movies at the theater, that's fine, but some of us get more enjoyment from other things. If you're a big fan of musical games like Rock Band, paying a few bucks here and there for new songs may feel like a better value than buying an entire new game, even though a new game will generally pack much more content per dollar. If you've gotten hundreds of hours of entertainment out of Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, that's great for you, but I'm not personally into that sort of thing, so I would rather pay seven bucks for a little bit more of something I love than pay sixty dollars for a lot of something I don't care about.
I'm not trying to say that anyone else's tastes are wrong. In fact, that's the opposite of what I'm saying. I just get tired of being told, whether directly or indirectly, that I'm spending my money incorrectly. I agree that a lot of DLC has not been of great quality, and that the pricing is highly disproportionate in comparison with the pricing of full games. But this Kasumi pack is actually quite good in terms of quality, and as for whether the quantity of new content makes the purchase justifiable, that depends entirely on one's own preferences.
One thing I will add: somewhere it was mentioned that Bring Down the Sky (for ME1) was more expensive than Kasumi. It was not. I don't know if the price was raised or something, but it was definitely 400 Microsoft Points ($5) when it released, and still was when I downloaded it some time later. That mission did last a bit longer than Kasumi's, but in all fairness it didn't really add anything else to the game beyond the mission. (There was some good loot, but it was pretty much interchangeable with the rest of the loot, just with higher stats.) The Kasumi thing adds a likeable squad member with some great, unique abilities, and a new weapon which will be useful to anyone who is not playing as a soldier, as well as a couple other little bonuses that you may or may not care about, so I think it's more or less a wash.
As has already been mentioned in the review, this is almost entirely a subjective matter. Seriously people, stop trying to dress up your own tastes and preferences in objective criteria. I will fully admit that I'm a big BioWare fan, and that ME2 is one of my favorite games in some time. Sure, I would always rather pay less and get more, but I don't tend to buy a lot of new games in a given year, and I always do multiple playthroughs in any BioWare game. Maybe I'm getting ripped off, but I would rather spend seven bucks for some great new stuff to play with in a game I love (and in which I am currently enjoying my third playthrough, with more eventually to come) than pay sixty dollars for a new game that I probably won't enjoy half as much as I enjoy ME2.
I also think it's a bit silly the way that a lot of people try to make value comparisons with other forms of entertainment, or online multiplayer games, or downloading new songs for Rock Band, etc. We're talking about entertainment, here, not science, so until somebody manages to precisely quantify entertainment value, and come up with a universal standard for measuring it, it makes little sense to debate the relative entertainment values per dollar of different media as if it were some legitimate statistical category.
If you love going to see movies at the theater, that's fine, but some of us get more enjoyment from other things. If you're a big fan of musical games like Rock Band, paying a few bucks here and there for new songs may feel like a better value than buying an entire new game, even though a new game will generally pack much more content per dollar. If you've gotten hundreds of hours of entertainment out of Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, that's great for you, but I'm not personally into that sort of thing, so I would rather pay seven bucks for a little bit more of something I love than pay sixty dollars for a lot of something I don't care about.
I'm not trying to say that anyone else's tastes are wrong. In fact, that's the opposite of what I'm saying. I just get tired of being told, whether directly or indirectly, that I'm spending my money incorrectly. I agree that a lot of DLC has not been of great quality, and that the pricing is highly disproportionate in comparison with the pricing of full games. But this Kasumi pack is actually quite good in terms of quality, and as for whether the quantity of new content makes the purchase justifiable, that depends entirely on one's own preferences.
One thing I will add: somewhere it was mentioned that Bring Down the Sky (for ME1) was more expensive than Kasumi. It was not. I don't know if the price was raised or something, but it was definitely 400 Microsoft Points ($5) when it released, and still was when I downloaded it some time later. That mission did last a bit longer than Kasumi's, but in all fairness it didn't really add anything else to the game beyond the mission. (There was some good loot, but it was pretty much interchangeable with the rest of the loot, just with higher stats.) The Kasumi thing adds a likeable squad member with some great, unique abilities, and a new weapon which will be useful to anyone who is not playing as a soldier, as well as a couple other little bonuses that you may or may not care about, so I think it's more or less a wash.
Posted: Apr 8th 2010 8:06AM (Unverified) said
I don't think it was worth my 7$.
The new character has no depth and is very generic, she just spits random lines if you try to talk to her on your ship (just like Zaeed). Her mission was nothing special as well, and lasted me ca.40 min.
Also Michelangelo's David has no penis in this DLC :P
The new character has no depth and is very generic, she just spits random lines if you try to talk to her on your ship (just like Zaeed). Her mission was nothing special as well, and lasted me ca.40 min.
Also Michelangelo's David has no penis in this DLC :P
Posted: Apr 8th 2010 9:09AM fasterthantheworld said
I enjoyed the DLC but 400 points would have been a better price point. A year or two ago, it *would* have been 400 points too. But, now that microsoft is selling virtual clothes and wallpapers for 3-5 bucks a pop, of course developers are going to feel actual game content is worth more than that.
BioWare gets a pass for me because ME2 was one of my favorite games of all time, but if it wasn't it would have been a much harder sell. I hope other developers consider that before they jump into this new $7 base price phenomenon
At the very least, I'm hoping we'll get some new missions(and a way to replay finished ones outside the context of the story flow) to try out the new goods.
BioWare gets a pass for me because ME2 was one of my favorite games of all time, but if it wasn't it would have been a much harder sell. I hope other developers consider that before they jump into this new $7 base price phenomenon
At the very least, I'm hoping we'll get some new missions(and a way to replay finished ones outside the context of the story flow) to try out the new goods.
Posted: Apr 9th 2010 10:09AM steverl22 said
I'll be passing as well....beat this game twice already.
I'll way til the "Game of the Year" version with all the DLC for $40
I'll way til the "Game of the Year" version with all the DLC for $40
Posted: Apr 10th 2010 1:24PM Andrew12h said
Well, I got Castle Crashers for 6$, when it was on sale.
But that's beyond the point, the DLC expands on an already MASSive universe.
It enriches the experience, anyways, you aren't expected just to play this once, are you?
The DLC was worth it to me.
Anyways, back to Firewalking!
But that's beyond the point, the DLC expands on an already MASSive universe.
It enriches the experience, anyways, you aren't expected just to play this once, are you?
The DLC was worth it to me.
Anyways, back to Firewalking!
Posted: Apr 10th 2010 4:58PM Travmanman said
I thought it was worth it. I'm in the same boat as Justin though, I was and still am hankering for more Mass Effect 2 to play. Plus, I was stoked and planning to buy is since they introduced Kasumi. She's enough of a reason for me to buy it.
Posted: Apr 10th 2010 10:10PM evilbastard said
I purchased this, and the other DLCs for this game. Haven't finished it yet cuz been playing other games;
No More Heroes 2
Borderlands
FFXIII
Plan on waiting until all the DLC is out before I finish ME2.
No More Heroes 2
Borderlands
FFXIII
Plan on waiting until all the DLC is out before I finish ME2.
Posted: Apr 13th 2010 1:10AM (Unverified) said
The quality of the content is indisputable, but one mission for $7 isn't a great value to me (although it did give me just enough XP to hit 30 :3 ). If this DLC had a recruiting mission, then a loyalty mission, I believe it would have been worth the cost, but $7/hour is not worth it, compared to the 38 hours of gameplay I got out of the original $50.
Posted: Apr 13th 2010 10:33PM (Unverified) said
40+ hours?
i did everything (except for all archievements), all quests in 28 hours...
i got the kasumi DLC but guess what? i dont have time to play the game all over, i tot i could do kasumis quest on a finished up game -____-
i have final fantasy 13, tales of vesperia, sacred 2, and lots of l4d 2 to play and still i work 12 hours a day, how can i go through mass effect 2 again? shit i wish i didnt buy this.
i did everything (except for all archievements), all quests in 28 hours...
i got the kasumi DLC but guess what? i dont have time to play the game all over, i tot i could do kasumis quest on a finished up game -____-
i have final fantasy 13, tales of vesperia, sacred 2, and lots of l4d 2 to play and still i work 12 hours a day, how can i go through mass effect 2 again? shit i wish i didnt buy this.
Posted: Apr 15th 2010 5:51AM (Unverified) said
hi
Posted: Apr 19th 2010 1:06AM Dlord said
....meh
Featured Stories
Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma
Posted on May 25th 2012 3:30PM






